MIAMI (/maɪˈæmi/ ; Spanish pronunciation: ) is a major port city
on the Atlantic coast of south
FloridaFlorida in the southeastern United
States . As the seat of
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County , the municipality is the
principal, central, and the most populous city of the Miami
metropolitan area and part of the second-most populous metropolis in
the southeastern United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
Miami's metro area is the eighth-most populous and fourth-largest
urban area in the U.S., with a population of around 5.5 million.

MiamiMiami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture,
media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012,
MiamiMiami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities
Study Group's inventory. In 2010,
MiamiMiami ranked seventh in the United
States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion,
education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities. In
2008, _
ForbesForbes _ magazine ranked
MiamiMiami "America's Cleanest City", for
its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking
water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs. According to a
2009 UBS study of 73 world cities,
MiamiMiami was ranked as the richest
city in the United States, and the world's fifth-richest city in terms
of purchasing power .
MiamiMiami is nicknamed the "Capital of Latin
America " and is the largest city with a
Cuban-American plurality.

MiamiMiami has the third tallest skyline in the U.S. with over 300
high-rises .
Downtown MiamiDowntown Miami is home to the largest concentration of
international banks in the United States, and many large national and
international companies. The Civic Center is a major center for
hospitals, research institutes , medical centers, and biotechnology
industries. For more than two decades, the
Port of MiamiPort of Miami , known as
the "Cruise Capital of the World", has been the number one cruise
passenger port in the world. It accommodates some of the world's
largest cruise ships and operations, and is the busiest port in both
passenger traffic and cruise lines. Metropolitan
MiamiMiami is the major
tourism hub in the American South, number two in the U.S. after New
York City and number 13 in the world, including the popular
destination of
Miami BeachMiami Beach .

The
MiamiMiami area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous
Native American tribes. The Tequestas occupied the area for a thousand
years before encountering Europeans. An Indian village of hundreds of
people dating to 500–600 B.C. was located at the mouth of the Miami
River.

MiamiMiami is noted as "the only major city in the
United StatesUnited States conceived
by a woman,
Julia Tuttle ", a local citrus grower and a wealthy
ClevelandCleveland native. The
MiamiMiami area was better known as "Biscayne Bay
Country" in the early years of its growth. In the late 19th century,
reports described the area as a promising wilderness. The area was
also characterized as "one of the finest building sites in Florida."
The
Great Freeze of 1894–95 hastened Miami's growth, as the crops of
the
MiamiMiami area were the only ones in
FloridaFlorida that survived. Julia
Tuttle subsequently convinced
Henry FlaglerHenry Flagler , a railroad tycoon , to
expand his
FloridaFlorida East Coast Railway to the region, for which she
became known as "the mother of Miami."
MiamiMiami was officially
incorporated as a city on July 28, 1896 with a population of just over
300. It was named for the nearby
MiamiMiami River , derived from
MayaimiMayaimi ,
the historic name of
Lake OkeechobeeLake Okeechobee . The Freedom Tower , built
in 1925, is Miami's historical landmark .

Black labor played a crucial role in Miami's early development.
During the beginning of the 20th century, migrants from the Bahamas
and African-Americans constituted 40 percent of the city's population.
:25 Whatever their role in the city's growth, their community's growth
was limited to a small space. When landlords began to rent homes to
African-Americans in neighborhoods close to Avenue J (what would later
become NW Fifth Avenue), a gang of white men with torches visited the
renting families and warned them to move or be bombed. :33

During the early 20th century, northerners were attracted to the
city, and
MiamiMiami prospered during the 1920s with an increase in
population and infrastructure. The legacy of Jim Crow was embedded in
these developments. Miami's chief of police, H. Leslie Quigg, did not
hide the fact that he, like many other white
MiamiMiami police officers,
was a member of the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan . Unsurprisingly, these officers
enforced social codes far beyond the written law. Quigg, for example,
"personally and publicly beat a colored bellboy to death for speaking
directly to a white woman." :53

The collapse of the
FloridaFlorida land boom of the 1920s , the 1926 Miami
Hurricane , and the
Great DepressionGreat Depression in the 1930s slowed development.
When
World War IIWorld War II began, Miami, well-situated on the southern coast of
Florida, became a base for US defense against German submarines . The
war brought an increase in Miami's population; by 1940, 172,172 people
lived in the city.

After
Fidel CastroFidel Castro rose to power in
CubaCuba in 1959, many wealthy Cubans
sought refuge in Miami, further increasing the population. The city
developed businesses and cultural amenities as part of the
New SouthNew South .
In the 1980s and 1990s, South
FloridaFlorida weathered social problems
related to drug wars, immigration from
HaitiHaiti and Latin America, and
the widespread destruction of
Hurricane Andrew . Racial and cultural
tensions were sometimes sparked, but the city developed in the latter
half of the 20th century as a major international, financial, and
cultural center. It is the second-largest US city (after El Paso ,
TexasTexas ) with a Spanish-speaking majority, and the largest city with a
Cuban-American plurality.

MiamiMiami and its metropolitan area grew from just over 1,000 residents
to nearly 5.5 million residents in just 110 years (1896–2006). The
city's nickname, _The Magic City_, comes from this rapid growth.
Winter visitors remarked that the city grew so much from one year to
the next that it was like magic.

View from one of the higher points in Miami, west of downtown.
The highest natural point in the city of
MiamiMiami is in
Coconut Grove ,
near the bay, along the
Miami Rock Ridge at 24 feet (7.3 m) above sea
level .

The surface bedrock under the
MiamiMiami area is called _
MiamiMiami oolite _ or
_
MiamiMiami limestone _. This bedrock is covered by a thin layer of soil,
and is no more than 50 feet (15 m) thick.
MiamiMiami limestone formed as
the result of the drastic changes in sea level associated with recent
glaciations or _ice ages _. Beginning some 130,000 years ago the
Sangamonian Stage raised sea levels to approximately 25 feet (8 m)
above the current level. All of southern
FloridaFlorida was covered by a
shallow sea. Several parallel lines of reef formed along the edge of
the submerged
FloridaFlorida plateau , stretching from the present
MiamiMiami area
to what is now the
Dry TortugasDry Tortugas . The area behind this reef line was
in effect a large lagoon, and the
MiamiMiami limestone formed throughout
the area from the deposition of oolites and the shells of bryozoans .
Starting about 100,000 years ago the
Wisconsin glaciationWisconsin glaciation began
lowering sea levels, exposing the floor of the lagoon. By 15,000 years
ago, the sea level had dropped to 300 to 350 feet (90 to 110 m) below
the contemporary level. The sea level rose quickly after that,
stabilizing at the current level about 4000 years ago, leaving the
mainland of South
FloridaFlorida just above sea level .

Beneath the plain lies the
Biscayne Aquifer , a natural underground
source of fresh water that extends from southern
Palm Beach CountyPalm Beach County to
FloridaFlorida Bay , with its highest point peaking around the cities of
MiamiMiami Springs and
HialeahHialeah . Most of the
MiamiMiami metropolitan area
obtains its drinking water from this aquifer. As a result of the
aquifer, it is not possible to dig more than 15 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m)
beneath the city without hitting water, which impedes underground
construction, though some underground parking garages exist. For this
reason, the mass transit systems in and around
MiamiMiami are elevated or
at-grade .

Most of the western fringes of the city extend into the
EvergladesEverglades ,
a subtropical marshland located in the southern portion of the U.S.
state of Florida. Alligators have ventured into
MiamiMiami communities and
on major highways.

In terms of land area,
MiamiMiami is one of the smallest major cities in
the United States. According to the
US Census BureauUS Census Bureau , the city
encompasses a total area of 55.27 sq mi (143.1 km2). Of that area,
35.67 sq mi (92.4 km2) is land and 19.59 sq mi (50.7 km2) is water.
That means
MiamiMiami comprises over 400,000 people in 35 square miles (91
km2), making it one of the most densely populated cities in the United
States, along with New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and
Philadelphia.

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Main article:
Neighborhoods in MiamiNeighborhoods in Miami The Downtown Miami
Historic District is the city's largest historic district , with
buildings ranging from 1896 to 1939 in the heart of Downtown .
Map of
MiamiMiami neighborhoods. The Downtown area has the
fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city.

The western side of
MiamiMiami includes
Little HavanaLittle Havana , West Flagler, and
Flagami , and is home to many of the city's traditionally immigrant
neighborhoods. Although at one time a mostly Jewish neighborhood,
today western
MiamiMiami is home to immigrants from mostly Central America
and
CubaCuba , while the west central neighborhood of
Allapattah is a
multicultural community of many ethnicities.

The northern side of
MiamiMiami includes Midtown , a district with a great
mix of diversity with many
West Indians , Hispanics , European
Americans , bohemians , and artists. Edgewater , and
Wynwood , are
neighborhoods of Midtown and are made up mostly of high-rise
residential towers and are home to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the
Performing Arts . The wealthier residents usually live in the
northeastern part, in Midtown, the Design District , and the Upper
East Side , with many sought after 1920s homes and home of the MiMo
Historic District , a style of architecture originated in
MiamiMiami in the
1950s. The northern side of
MiamiMiami also has notable African American
and
CaribbeanCaribbean immigrant communities such as
Little HaitiLittle Haiti , Overtown
(home of the Lyric Theater ), and
Liberty CityLiberty City .

MiamiMiami has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification
_Am_) with a marked drier season in the winter. Its sea-level
elevation, coastal location, position just above the Tropic of Cancer
, and proximity to the
Gulf StreamGulf Stream shape its climate. With January
averaging 68.2 °F (20.1 °C), winter features highs generally ranging
between 73–80 °F (23–27 °C). Cool air usually settles after the
passage of a cold front , which produces much of the little amount of
rainfall during the season. Lows fall below 50 °F (10 °C), an
average of 10–15 nights during the winter season following the
passage of cold fronts. Typical summer afternoon thunderstorm
rolling in from the
EvergladesEverglades .

The wet season begins some time in May, ending in mid-October. During
this period, temperatures are in the mid 80s to low 90s (29–35 °C),
accompanied by high humidity, though the heat is often relieved by
afternoon thunderstorms or a sea breeze that develops off the Atlantic
Ocean , which then allow lower temperatures, but conditions still
remain very muggy. Much of the year's 55.9 inches (1,420 mm) of
rainfall occurs during this period. Dew points in the warm months
range from 71.9 °F (22.2 °C) in June to 73.7 °F (23.2 °C) in
August.

Extremes range from 27 °F (−2.8 °C) on February 3, 1917 to 100
°F (38 °C) on July 21, 1940. While
MiamiMiami has never officially
recorded snowfall at any official weather station since records have
been kept, snow flurries fell in some parts of
MiamiMiami on January 19,
1977.

Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30,
although hurricanes can develop beyond those dates. The most likely
time for
MiamiMiami to be hit is during the peak of the Cape Verde season,
which is mid-August through the end of September. Although tornadoes
are uncommon in the area, one struck in 1925 and again in 1997 .

The city proper is home to less than one-thirteenth of the population
of South Florida.
MiamiMiami is the 42nd-most populous city in the United
States. The
Miami metropolitan areaMiami metropolitan area , which includes Miami-Dade ,
Broward and Palm Beach counties, had a combined population of more
than 5.5 million people, ranked seventh largest in the United States,
and is the largest metropolitan area in the Southeastern United
States. As of 2008 , the
United NationsUnited Nations estimates that the
MiamiMiami Urban
Agglomeration is the 44th-largest in the world. Map of racial
distribution in Miami, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: WHITE,
HISPANIC, BLACK, ASIAN

As of 2010 , those of (non-Hispanic white) European ancestry
accounted for 11.9% of Miami's population. Out of the 11.9%, 1.7% were
German, 1.6% Italian, 1.4% Irish, 1.0% English, 0.8% French, 0.6%
Russian, and 0.5% were Polish.

As of 2010 , those of Asian ancestry accounted for 1.0% of Miami's
population. Out of the 1.0%, 0.3% were
Indian peopleIndian people /Indo-Caribbean
American (1,206 people), 0.3% Chinese (1,804 people), 0.2% Filipino
(647 people), 0.1% were other Asian (433 people), 0.1% Japanese (245
people), 0.1% Korean (213 people), and 0.0% were Vietnamese (125
people).

In 2010, 1.9% of the population considered themselves to be of only
American ancestry (regardless of race or ethnicity.) And 0.5% were
of Arab ancestry, as of 2010 .

As of 2010 , there were 158,317 households of which 14.0% were
vacant. 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.3%
were married couples living together, 18.1% have a female head of
household with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 33.3%
of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone
living alone who was 65 years of age or older (4.0% male and 7.3%
female.) The average household size was 2.47 and the average family
size was 3.15.

In 2010, the city population was spread out with 18.8% under the age
of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64,
and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8
years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.

As of 2010 , the median income for a household in the city was
$29,621, and the median income for a family was $33,379. Males had a
median income of $27,849 versus $24,518 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $19,745. About 22.2% of families and 27.3% of
the population were below the poverty line , including 37.1% of those
under age 18 and 32.8% of those aged 65 or over.

In 2010, 58.1% of the county's population was foreign born, with
41.1% being naturalized American citizens . Of foreign-born residents,
95.4% were born in Latin America, 2.4% were born in Europe, 1.4% born
in Asia, 0.5% born in Africa, 0.2% in North America, and 0.1% were
born in Oceania.

In 2004, the
United NationsUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) reported that
MiamiMiami had the highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any
major city worldwide (59%), followed by Toronto (50%).

In 1960, non-Hispanic whites represented 80% of Miami-Dade county's
population. In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Miami's population as
45.3% Hispanic, 32.9% non-Hispanic White, and 22.7% Black. Miami's
explosive population growth has been driven by internal migration from
other parts of the country, primarily up until the 1980s, as well as
by immigration , primarily from the 1960s to the 1990s. Today,
immigration to
MiamiMiami has slowed significantly and Miami's growth today
is attributed greatly to its fast urbanization and high-rise
construction, which has increased its inner city neighborhood
population densities, such as in Downtown ,
BrickellBrickell , and Edgewater ,
where one area in Downtown alone saw a 2,069% increase in population
in the 2010 Census.
MiamiMiami is regarded as more of a multicultural
mosaic , than it is a melting pot , with residents still maintaining
much of, or some of their cultural traits . The overall culture of
MiamiMiami is heavily influenced by its large population of Hispanics and
blacks mainly from the
CaribbeanCaribbean islands.

As of 2010 , 70.2% of Miami's population age five and over spoke only
Spanish at home while 22.7% of the population spoke English at home.
About 6.3% spoke other
Indo-European languagesIndo-European languages at home. About 0.4%
spoke Asian languages or Pacific Islander languages /Oceanic languages
at home. The remaining 0.3% of the population spoke other languages at
home. In total, 77.3% spoke another language other than English.

As of 2000, 66.75% of residents spoke Spanish at home, while those
who only spoke English made up 25.45%. Speakers of Haitian Creole
(French-based ) were 5.20%, French speakers comprised 0.76% of the
population, and Portuguese at 0.41%. Among U.S. cities,
MiamiMiami has one
of the highest proportions of residents who speak languages other than
English at home (74.55% in 2000).

Due to English-speakers moving away from the area, the percentage of
residents who speak only English is expected to continue to decline.

Organizations such as the Miami-Dade
Salvation ArmySalvation Army and its iconic
Red Kettle Christmas Campaign,
Hands On Miami ,
City Year Miami, Human
Services Coalition of South Florida, and Citizens for a Better South
Florida, among many other organizations have been working to engage
Miamians in volunteerism.

ECONOMY

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Downtown is South
FloridaFlorida 's main hub for finance, commerce and
international business .
BrickellBrickell Avenue has the largest concentration
of international banks in the U.S. As seen in 2006, the
high-rise construction in
MiamiMiami has inspired popular opinion of "Miami
manhattanization "
BrickellBrickell Avenue in Downtown Miami's Brickell
Financial District
PortMiami is the world's largest cruise
ship port, and is the headquarters of many of the world's largest
cruise companies

MiamiMiami is a major center of commerce, finance, and boasts a strong
international business community. According to the ranking of world
cities undertaken by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group &
Network (GaWC) in 2010 and based on the level of presence of global
corporate service organizations,
MiamiMiami is considered a "Alpha minus
world city ".
MiamiMiami has a Gross Metropolitan Product of $257 billion
and is ranked 20th worldwide in GMP, and 11th in the United States.

MiamiMiami is a major television production center, and the most important
city in the U.S. for Spanish language media.
UnivisiónUnivisión , Telemundo
and
UniMÁSUniMÁS have their headquarters in Miami, along with their
production studios. The
TelemundoTelemundo Television Studios produces much of
the original programming for Telemundo, such as their telenovelas and
talk shows. In 2011, 85% of Telemundo's original programming was
filmed in Miami.
MiamiMiami is also a major music recording center, with
the
SonySony Music Latin and Universal Music Latin Entertainment
headquarters in the city, along with many other smaller record labels
. The city also attracts many artists for music video and film
shootings.

Since 2001,
MiamiMiami has been undergoing a large building boom with more
than 50 skyscrapers rising over 400 feet (122 m) built or currently
under construction in the city. Miami\'s skyline is ranked third-most
impressive in the U.S., behind New York City and Chicago , and 19th in
the world according to the Almanac of Architecture and Design. The
city currently has the eight tallest (as well as thirteen of the
fourteen tallest) skyscrapers in the state of Florida, with the
tallest being the 789-foot (240 m) Four Seasons Hotel "> , PortMiami
accounts for 176,000 jobs and has an annual economic impact in Miami
of $18 billion. It is the 11th-largest cargo container port in the
United States. In 2010, a record 4.33 million passengers traveled
through PortMiami. One in seven of all the world's cruise passengers
start from Miami. The Civic Center has the country's
second-largest concentration of medical and research facilities. It is
the center of Miami's growing biotechnology sectors.

Tourism is also an important industry in Miami. Along with finance
and business, the beaches, conventions, festivals and events draw over
38 million visitors annually into the city, from across the country
and around the world, spending $17.1 billion. The Art Deco District
in
South BeachSouth Beach , is reputed as one of the most glamorous in the world
for its nightclubs, beaches, historical buildings, and shopping.
Annual events such as the
SonySony Ericsson Open ,
Art BaselArt Basel , Winter
Music Conference ,
South BeachSouth Beach Wine "> Adrienne Arsht Center for
the Performing Arts , the second-largest performing arts center in the
United States.

In addition to such annual festivals like Calle Ocho Festival and
Carnaval Miami,
MiamiMiami is home to many entertainment venues, theaters,
museums, parks and performing arts centers. The newest addition to the
MiamiMiami arts scene is the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
, the second-largest performing arts center in the
United StatesUnited States after
the
Lincoln CenterLincoln Center in New York City, and is the home of the Florida
Grand Opera . Within it are the Ziff Ballet Opera House, the center's
largest venue, the Knight Concert Hall, the Carnival Studio Theater
and the Peacock Rehearsal Studio. The center attracts many large-scale
operas, ballets, concerts, and musicals from around the world and is
Florida's grandest performing arts center. Other performing arts
venues in
MiamiMiami include the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts ,
Coconut Grove Playhouse , Colony Theatre, Lincoln Theatre, New World
Center , Actor's Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Jackie Gleason
Theatre , Manuel Artime Theater , Ring Theatre , Playground Theatre,
Wertheim Performing Arts Center , the
Fair Expo Center and the
Bayfront ParkBayfront Park Amphitheater for outdoor music events.

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MiamiMiami is also considered a "hot spot" for dance music , Freestyle ,
a style of dance music popular in the 1980s and 90s was heavily
influenced by Electro , hip-hop, and disco. Many popular Freestyle
acts such as Pretty Tony,
Debbie Deb ,
Stevie B , and Exposé ,
originated in Miami. Indie /folk acts
Cat PowerCat Power and Iron "> A
cortadito is a popular espresso beverage found in cafeterias around
Miami. It is particularly popular for breakfast or in the afternoon
with a pastelito .

Cuban immigrants in the 1960s brought the
Cuban sandwichCuban sandwich , medianoche
,
Cuban espresso , and croquetas , all of which have grown in
popularity to all Miamians, and have become symbols of the city's
varied cuisine. Today, these are part of the local culture, and can be
found throughout the city in window cafés, particularly outside of
supermarkets and restaurants. Restaurants such as Versailles
restaurant in
Little HavanaLittle Havana are landmark eateries of Miami. Located on
the Atlantic Ocean, and with a long history as a seaport ,
MiamiMiami is
also known for its seafood, with many seafood restaurants located
along the
MiamiMiami River , and in and around
Biscayne BayBiscayne Bay .
MiamiMiami is
also the home of restaurant chains such as
Burger KingBurger King , Tony Roma\'s
and
Benihana .

The
MiamiMiami area has a unique dialect, (commonly called the "Miami
accent") which is widely spoken. The dialect developed among second-
or third-generation Hispanics , including Cuban-Americans , whose
first language was English (though some non-Hispanic white , black ,
and other races who were born and raised the
MiamiMiami area tend to adopt
it as well.) It is based on a fairly standard American accent but
with some changes very similar to dialects in the Mid-Atlantic
(especially the New York area dialect , Northern New Jersey English ,
and
New York Latino English .) Unlike Virginia Piedmont , Coastal
Southern American, and Northeast American dialects and
FloridaFlorida Cracker
dialect (see section below), "
MiamiMiami accent" is rhotic ; it also
incorporates a rhythm and pronunciation heavily influenced by Spanish
(wherein rhythm is syllable-timed ). However, this is a native
dialect of English, not learner English or interlanguage ; it is
possible to differentiate this variety from an interlanguage spoken by
second-language speakers in that "
MiamiMiami accent" does _not_ generally
display the following features: there is no addition of /ɛ/ before
initial consonant clusters with /s/, speakers do not confuse of /dʒ/
with /j/, (e.g., _Yale_ with _jail_), and /r/ and /rr/ are pronounced
as alveolar approximant instead of alveolar tap or alveolar trill
in Spanish.

IN POPULAR CULTURE

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The video game _Scarface: The World Is Yours _ takes place in Miami.
The game is based on and is a quasi-sequel to the 1983 motion picture
_
ScarfaceScarface _ starring
Al PacinoAl Pacino reprising his role as
Tony Montana ,
with
André Sogliuzzo providing Montana's voice. The game begins in
the film's final scene, with Tony Montana's mansion being raided by
Alejandro Sosa's (
Robert Davi ) assassins.

The government of the City of
MiamiMiami (proper ) uses the
mayor-commissioner type of system. The city commission consists of
five commissioners that are elected from single member districts. The
city commission constitutes the governing body with powers to pass
ordinances, adopt regulations, and exercise all powers conferred upon
the city in the city charter. The mayor is elected at large and
appoints a city manager. The City of
MiamiMiami is governed by Mayor Tomás
Regalado and 5 City commissioners that oversee the five districts in
the city. The commission's regular meetings are held at
MiamiMiami City
Hall , which is located at 3500 Pan American Drive on
Dinner Key in
the neighborhood of
Coconut Grove .

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Public schools in
MiamiMiami are governed by
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County Public
Schools , which is the largest school district in
FloridaFlorida and the
fourth-largest in the United States. As of September 2008 it has a
student enrollment of 385,655 and over 392 schools and centers. The
district is also the largest minority public school system in the
country, with 60% of its students being of Hispanic origin, 28% Black
or
West Indian AmericanWest Indian American , 10% White (non-Hispanic) and 2% non-white of
other minorities.

Catholic preparatory schools operated by religious orders are
Christopher Columbus High School and Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
for boys and
Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of
Lourdes Academy for girls.

MiamiMiami has over 200,000 students enrolled in local colleges and
universities, placing it seventh in the nation in per capita
university enrollment. In 2010, the city's four largest colleges and
universities (MDC, FIU, UM, and Barry) graduated 28,000 students.

MiamiMiami has one of the largest television markets in the nation and the
second largest in the state of Florida.
MiamiMiami has several major
newspapers, the main and largest newspaper being _
The Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald _.
_
El Nuevo Herald _ is the major and largest Spanish-language
newspaper. _The
MiamiMiami Herald_ and _El Nuevo Herald_ are Miami's and
South Florida's main, major and largest newspapers. The papers left
their longtime home in downtown
MiamiMiami in 2013. The newspapers are now
headquartered at the former home of
U.S. Southern Command in Doral .

A number of magazines circulate throughout the greater
MiamiMiami area,
including _
Miami Monthly _, Southeast Florida's only city/regional;
_Ocean Drive_, a hot-spot social scene glossy, and _South Florida
Business Leader._

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Alternatively, nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
also serves commercial traffic in the
MiamiMiami area. Opa-locka Airport
in Opa-locka and
Kendall-Tamiami Airport in an unincorporated area
serve general aviation traffic in the
MiamiMiami area.

MiamiMiami is home to one of the largest ports in the United States, the
PortMiami . It is the largest cruise ship port in the world. The port
is often called the "Cruise Capital of the World" and the "Cargo
Gateway of the Americas". It has retained its status as the number
one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade
accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines. In
2007, the port served 3,787,410 passengers. Additionally, the port is
one of the nation's busiest cargo ports, importing 7.8 million tons of
cargo in 2007. Among North American ports, it ranks second to the
PortPort of South Louisiana in New Orleans in terms of cargo tonnage
imported/exported from Latin America. The port is on 518 acres (2 km2)
and has 7 passenger terminals.
ChinaChina is the port's number one import
country, and
HondurasHonduras is the number one export country.
MiamiMiami has the
world's largest amount of cruise line headquarters, home to: Carnival
Cruise Lines ,
Celebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises ,
Norwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise Line , Oceania
Cruises , and Royal
CaribbeanCaribbean International . In 2014, the
PortPort of
MiamiMiami Tunnel was completed and will serve the PortMiami.

Two new light rail systems, Baylink and the
MiamiMiami Streetcar, have
been proposed and are currently in the planning stage. BayLink would
connect Downtown with
South BeachSouth Beach , and the
MiamiMiami Streetcar would
connect Downtown with Midtown .

FloridaFlorida High Speed Rail was a proposed government backed high-speed
rail system that would have connected Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. The
first phase was planned to connect
OrlandoOrlando and
TampaTampa and was offered
federal funding, but it was turned down by Governor Rick Scott in
2011. The second phase of the line was envisioned to connect Miami. By
2014, a private project known as All Aboard
FloridaFlorida by a company of
the historic
FloridaFlorida East Coast Railway began construction of a
higher-speed rail line in South
FloridaFlorida that is planned to eventually
terminate at
OrlandoOrlando International Airport .

Miami's road system is based along the numerical "
MiamiMiami Grid" where
Flagler StreetFlagler Street forms the east-west baseline and
Miami AvenueMiami Avenue forms the
north-south meridian . The corner of
Flagler StreetFlagler Street and
MiamiMiami Avenue
is in the middle of Downtown in front of the Downtown Macy\'s
(formerly the Burdine\'s headquarters). The
MiamiMiami grid is primarily
numerical so that, for example, all street addresses north of Flagler
Street and west of
Miami AvenueMiami Avenue have "NW" in their address. Because
its point of origin is in Downtown , which is close to the coast,
therefore, the "NW" and "SW" quadrants are much larger than the "SE"
and "NE" quadrants. Many roads, especially major ones, are also named
(e.g., Tamiami Trail/SW 8th St ), although, with exceptions, the
number is in more common usage among locals.

With few exceptions, within this grid north/south roads are
designated as Courts, Roads, Avenues or Places (often remembered by
their acronym), while east/west roads are Streets, Terraces, Drives or
occasionally Ways. Major roads in each direction are located at one
mile intervals. There are 16 blocks to each mile on north/south
avenues, and 10 blocks to each mile on east/west streets. Major
north/south avenues generally end in "7" – e.g., 17th, 27th,
37th/Douglas Aves., 57th/Red Rd., 67th/Ludlam, 87th/Galloway, etc.,
all the way west beyond 177th/Krome Avenue. (One prominent exception
is 42nd Avenue, LeJeune Road, located at the half-mile point instead.)
Major east/west streets to the south of downtown are multiples of 16,
though the beginning point of this system is at SW 8th St, one half
mile south of Flagler ("zeroth") Street. Thus, major streets are at
8th St. + 16 = 24th St./Coral Way, + 16 = 40th St./Bird, +16 =
56th/Miller, + 16 = 72nd/ Sunset, + 16 = 88th/N. Kendall, + 16 = 104th
(originally S. Kendall), + 16 = 120th/Montgomery, + 16 = 136th/Howard,
+ 16 = 152nd/Coral Reef, + 16 = 168th/Richmond, + 16 = 184th/Eureka, +
16 = 200th/Quail Roost, + 16 = 216th/Hainlin Mill, + 16 = 232nd/Silver
Palm, + 16 = 248th/Coconut Palm, etc., well into the 300's. Within the
Grid, odd-numbered addresses are generally on the north or east side,
and even-numbered addresses are on the south or west side. This makes
even unfamiliar addresses and distances easy – If one must travel
from, say 1709 SW 8th St. to 24832 SW 157th Avenue, one knows it will
be 140 blocks (157 − 17) / 20 miles to the west and 240 blocks
(248-8) / 15 miles to the south, and that the destination will be on
the south side of 248th St. Remarkably, even
MiamiMiami natives are often
unaware of this pattern.

Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County is served by four Interstate Highways (I-75 , I-95
, I-195 , I-395 ) and several U.S. Highways including U.S. Route 1 ,
U.S. Route 27 , U.S. Route 41 , and U.S. Route 441 .

In 2007,
MiamiMiami was identified as having the rudest drivers in the
United States, the second year in a row to have been cited, in a poll
commissioned by automobile club AutoVantage.
MiamiMiami is also
consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United
States for pedestrians.

BICYCLING

In recent years the city government, under Mayor Manny Diaz , has
taken an ambitious stance in support of bicycling in
MiamiMiami for both
recreation and commuting. Every month, the city hosts "Bike Miami",
where major streets in Downtown and
BrickellBrickell are closed to
automobiles, but left open for pedestrians and bicyclists . The event
began in November 2008, and has doubled in popularity from 1,500
participants to about 3,000 in the October 2009 Bike Miami. This is
the longest-running such event in the US. In October 2009, the city
also approved an extensive 20-year plan for bike routes and paths
around the city. The city has begun construction of bike routes as of
late 2009, and ordinances requiring bike parking in all future
construction in the city became mandatory as of October 2009.

A 2011 study by
Walk ScoreWalk Score ranked
MiamiMiami the eighth-most walkable of
the fifty largest cities in the United States, but a 2013 survey by
Travel + Leisure ranked
MiamiMiami 34th for "public transportation and
pedestrian friendliness."

* ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest
temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based
on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
* ^ Official records for
MiamiMiami were kept at the
Lemon City from
September 1895 to November 1900, the
MiamiMiami COOP from December 1900 to
May 1911, the Weather Bureau Office from June 1911 to February 1937,
at various locations in and around the city from March 1937 to July
1942, and at
MiamiMiami Int'l since August 1942. For more information, see
ThreadEx.